Professional wrestler King Kong Bundy has died at age 61.
Promoter and longtime friend David Herro says Bundy died Monday. Herro posted on Facebook : “Today we lost a Legend and a man I consider family.” The cause of death and other details were not disclosed.
Bundy, whose real name was Christopher Pallies, was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The 6-foot-4, 458-pound wrestler made his World Wrestling Federation debut in 1981. He was best known for facing Hulk Hogan in 1986 in a steel cage match at WrestleMania 2, which Hogan won. WWE said he was one of the “greatest … big men to lace up a set of boots.”
Bundy had guest appearances on the sitcom “Married…with Children.”
He was planning to appear next month at WrestleCon in New York City.
“Bundy was appropriately called the “walking condominium,” standing at an impressive 6-foot-4 and weighing 458 pounds. The sight of Bundy stepping between the ropes was intimidating enough, but his crushing offense proved that he was every bit as destructive as advertised. In fact, Bundy was so dominant that he demanded referees count to five when he pinned his opponents to show that there was no way they were getting up,” said WWE in a story about Bundy’s death.